There’s good news for those working in the financial services sector – or, indeed, those aspiring to be – as salaries appear to be rising.
Finance and technology companies come out top on a
list of the highest paying firms in the UK recently published by online career site Glassdoor. The UK’s best paying companies – including Deutsche Bank (£90,000 median total compensation), Royal Bank of Canada (£85,000), Macquarie Group (£83,000), Nomura International (£80,000) and Credit Suisse (£80,000) – are offering median salaries of between £80,000 and £110,000 a year, says Joe Wiggins, writing for the Glassdoor blog. US cloud computing firm Salesforce topped the ranking, with a median total compensation of £110,000, beating other technology companies such as Facebook, SAP and Microsoft. Consultants McKinsey & Company also made the cut, coming in third.
“Bankers tend to get pretty hefty bonuses, since successful traders can bring huge company returns, and technology salaries in particular tend to be high because of a shortage in specialist skills such as data science and software engineering,” says Glassdoor’s chief economist Dr Andrew Chamberlain.
The prominence of technology and finance on the list highlights the City of London, and the UK’s, position as a major global fintech hub.
Glassdoor article
Paying the priceSince the referendum in June 2016, in particular, employers are finding that they are having to pay a “premium for talent”, says
FT Adviser’s Damian Fantato.
Citing data from the Association of Professional Staffing Companies (APSCo), the article notes a 3.5% increase in financial services wages and a 9.2% rise in insurance sector pay over the past year. Salaries on a three-month average now stand at over £40,000, writes Fantato, falling just behind IT, the sector with the highest wage levels.
Permanent hiring levels continue to remain stable, despite the uncertain climate, says Ann Swain, chief executive of APSCo, who is quoted in the article. “Businesses simply have no option but to acclimatise to this ‘new normal’ and unless they plan to put the brakes on hiring for the foreseeable future, decision-makers are taking a ‘business as usual’ approach to recruitment.” The increase in wages is also indicative of the current market strength, “with employers willing to pay to attract – and retain – sought after skills and expertise,” she says.
3.5%
The amount financial services wages in the UK have increased by over the past year
Job openings in financial services have risen by 4% over the past year, however the amount of temporary vacancies has fallen by 26%. This could suggest a demand for temporary workers to “ride out this period of uncertainty in the short-term”, says Fantato.
FT Adviser article
Skills remain vitalHeading east, the situation for finance professionals and job seekers is equally promising. According to the latest Robert Half Hong Kong
Salary Guide for 2017, quoted by
Staffing Industry Analysts, finance and accounting workers in the region are set for a starting salary increase of 1.5%, while financial services professionals can expect a rise of 1.4%. The report also finds that a number of workers – 30% for finance and accounting and 27% for financial services – believe they earn above-industry average.
While uncertainty regarding the economy, as well as unstable market conditions, has left wages in some sectors rising at a slower rate than others, many firms are willing to pay an above-average wage for difficult to fill finance and financial services positions, notes Adam Johnston, managing director at Robert Half Hong Kong, who is cited in the article.
“Hong Kong companies will be able to win the war for talent as long as they are prepared to offer competitive remuneration and, by doing so, they will be able to retain their top performing staff as well,” he says. “Companies who are struggling to fill specialised roles will need to review their salary offers and be prepared to offer rates that are at least in line or above the market average.”
But, says Johnston, it is important that professionals on the hunt for a higher salary “reassess their skillsets” and “upskill accordingly” to improve their market value. In a technology driven world, where firms are increasingly turning to digitisation and automation to increase efficiencies, finance and financial services workers must ensure their IT skills are up to scratch.
This is of course true for all sectors – ongoing continuing professional development (CPD) is a must to get ahead and stay ahead. Have a look at the CISI’s list of CPD
events to enable you to develop and maintain your industry knowledge and skills.
Staffing Industry Analysts article
Seen a blog, news story or discussion online that you think might interest CISI members? Email rosalie.starling@wardour.co.uk.